Communication is one of the most important skills that you can have as a family caregiver. This is especially true if you are caring for an elderly adult who is dealing with Alzheimer’s disease.
Maintaining communication with your senior throughout their progression with the disease is critical to supporting meaning in your care journey, keeping your parent’s dignity and individuality in mind, and ensuring that they get the level of care that they desire and deserve as they age in place.
When considering communication with an elderly adult who is dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, however, it is important that you remember the changes that they have experienced and how those changes might negatively impact their feelings, emotions, and behaviors as they progress through their condition. One of the strongest reactions that your loved one might experience is anger, aggression, and anxiety associated with feeling frightened, out of control, or insecure.
The way that you communicate with them can make a tremendous difference in these feelings and improve your overall care journey with your senior.
Use these tips to modify your communication to help your senior with Alzheimer’s disease feel more secure:
- Speak clearly and calmly. Resist the urge to overreact to situations or to react angrily, loudly, or aggressively. Your parent will take how you engage with them as a cue to how to respond to situations. Remaining calm and in control will help your parent to feel safer, more secure, and calmer
- Give clear instructions. If you need to give your aging parent instructions, do so carefully. Remember that your parent may not be able to follow multi-step instructions or be able to understand complicated language. Break instructions down into simple steps, use straightforward language, and give them time to follow through before moving on
- Present one idea at a time. Avoid asking your parent a series of questions or making too many statements at once. This can be overwhelming and confusing. Instead, present one question or statement, allow your parent to respond, and then move forward.
Starting home care for your aging parent as they progress through Alzheimer’s disease can be one of the most beneficial decisions that you can make for them as their family caregiver. An in-home senior care services provider can be with your aging loved one on a customized schedule tailored not just to your parent’s needs and challenges, but also their goals and the level of care that you are able to give them yourself.
This means that you are kept at the forefront of their care, but they receive all of the care, support, encouragement, and assistance that they need on a regular basis to stay healthy, happy, comfortable, and as independent as possible as they progress through the disease. When it comes to challenging symptoms such as anger, this care provider can help to identify the cause of the anger, ensure that your parent’s needs are met in order to reduce the chances of angry episodes, and provide the support that they need to remain safe and get past the anger on to a healthier state of mind.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering home care in Rockville, MD, please contact the caring staff at Trusted Touch Healthcare today. We make seniors’ lives better! Call today (301) 272-5140.
Source:
http://www.alz.org/care/alzheimers-dementia-aggression-anger.asp
